Luke 12
12
Warning Against the Leaven of the Pharisees
1 Meanwhile,* when a crowd of many thousands had gathered together, so that they were trampling one another, He began to say to His disciples first, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. * 2 But nothing is concealed which will not be revealed, * or hidden which will not be made known. 3 For that reason, whatever that you have said in the darkness will be heard in the light, and what you have said in the private rooms will be preached from the housetops.
Fear Only God
Matt. 10:28-31
4 “And I say to you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after these things have nothing more that they are able to do. 5 But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear the One who, after the killing, has authority to throw you into hell! Yes, I say to you, fear this One! 6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in the presence of God. 7 As a matter of fact, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not be afraid; you are esteemed more highly than many sparrows.
Acknowledging Christ Before Men
Matt. 10:32-33; 12:32; 10:19-20
8 “And I say to you, everyone who acknowledges Me before men, * the Son of Man also will acknowledge Him before the angels of God; 9 but the one who rejects Me before men will be rejected before the angels of God. * 10 And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but to the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him. 11 But when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how or what you should say in your legal defence, or what you should say; 12 for the Holy Spirit will teach * you in that same hour what you ought to say.”
The Parable of the Rich Fool
13 Now someone from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, say to my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 But He said to him, “Man, who appointed Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?” 15 And He said to them, “Watch out and be on guard against all covetousness, because one’s life is not defined by the abundance of his possessions.”
16 And He told a parable to them, saying, “The land of a certain rich man yielded a good harvest. 17 And he reasoned to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do? For I have nowhere to store my crops.’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones; and I will store all my grain and my goods there. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years. Take your rest, eat, drink, be merry.” ’ * 20 But God said to him, ‘Foolish one! This night your soul is demanded of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 Thus is the one who stores up treasure for himself, but is not rich towards God.” *
Do not Be Anxious
Matt. 6:25-34; 19:21
22 And He said to His disciples, “For this reason, I say to you: Do not be anxious for your * life, what you will eat, nor for your body, what you will wear. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.
24 “Consider the ravens, that they neither sow nor reap; to them, there is neither storehouse nor barn, yet God feeds them. How much more valuable you are than the birds? 25 And which of you, by being anxious, can add one cubit to his height? * 26 If, then, you cannot do even the most insignificant thing, why are you anxious about other things?
27 “Consider the lilies, how they grow: They neither toil nor spin, but I say to you, not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these. 28 But if God clothes the grass in the field in this way—which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven—how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith!
29 “And you, do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not be in a state of anxious uncertainty. 30 For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need these things.
31 “But seek His kingdom, and these things * will be added to you. 32 “Do not fear, little flock, because your Father has resolved in His pleasure * to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your assets and make charitable contributions. Make for yourselves moneybags that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where thief does not come near or moth destroy. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be as well.
Be Prepared for Action
Matt. 24:45-51
35 “Let your waists be girded for action and your lamps burning. 36 And you, be like men waiting for their master whenever he returns from the wedding feast, so that when he comes and knocks, they may open the door for him immediately. 37 Blessed are those servants whom the master will find keeping awake when he returns. Truly, I say to you that he will gird himself for action and have them recline at the table, and will come near and serve them. 38 Even if he comes back in the second or in the third watch of the night and finds them like this, blessed are they. 39 But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be burglarised. 40 So you must be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not think.”
41 And Peter said, “Lord, are You telling this parable to us,* or also to everyone?” 42 And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful, wise steward whom the master will set over his servants to give the measured portion of food at the proper time? 43 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find doing so upon his return. 44 Truly, I say to you that he will set him over all that belongs to him. 45 But if that servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying to come,’ and he begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk; 46 the master of that servant will arrive on a day that he does not expect and at an hour that he is not aware of, and he will cut him in two * and assign his share with the unbelievers. 47 And that servant who knew his master’s will, but did not prepare or act in accordance with his will be scourged with many strokes. 48 But the one who did not know, and did things worthy of strokes will be beaten with few strokes. And everyone to whom much has been given—much will be demanded from him. Also to whom much was committed—they will require more from him.
Jesus' Mission to Cast Fire on the Earth
Matt. 10:34-36
49 “I have come to cast fire on the earth, and how I wish that it were already kindled! 50 But I have a baptism to be baptised with, and how I am distressed until it is fulfilled! 51 Do you think that I have come to give peace on the earth? No, I say to you, but rather division! 52 For from now on, in one household, there will be five divided: three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided: father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
Interpreting the Time
Matt. 16:2-3
54 And He also said to the crowds: “When you see a cloud rising up in the west, you say immediately, ‘A rainstorm is coming,’ and thus it happens. 55 And when a south wind is blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and it happens. 56 Hypocrites! You know how to analyse the appearance of the earth and the sky, but how is it you do not know how to analyse this present time?
Settling with Your Opponent
Matt. 5:25-26
57 “And why, indeed, do you not judge for yourselves what is right? 58 For as you are going with your opponent before the magistrate, make every effort to settle with him on the way, lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the court officer, and the court officer will throw you into prison. 59 I say to you, you will never get out of there until you have paid even the last penny.”
Notes
1 Greek in these
1 Greek Beware for yourselves of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy
2 One ancient Greek manuscript ends the verse at this point
8 Or people , as the term is understood in a generic sense. So also vv. 9,36
9 The whole verse is missing in one ancient Greek manuscript
12 Or guide
19 One ancient Greek manuscript omits the expression laid up for many years. Take your rest, eat, drink
21 The whole verse is missing in one ancient Greek manuscript
22 Greek the . Here, the Greek definite article functions pronominally, corresponding contextually to the English possessive your
25 Or one hour to his lifespan
31 Some ancient manuscripts read all these things , in order to synchronise the text with a parallel in Matt. 6:33
32 Or is well-pleased
41 One ancient Greek manuscript ends the verse at this point
46 Or scourge him severely
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Copyright © 2026 Michael Adeyemi Adegbola. This Scripture text is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).
